


Friendly Competition

by BrenH



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: M/M, but nothing really spoilery is mentioned, everyone loves caleb, follows canon as of ep 23
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-20
Updated: 2018-06-20
Packaged: 2019-05-25 18:40:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14983205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrenH/pseuds/BrenH
Summary: Molly and Fjord are both crushing on Caleb, and decide that a little friendly competition can do no harm.





	Friendly Competition

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written in ages but I wrote this for Jess... I hope you all enjoy it was just written for the laffs

It started off innocently enough. Maybe, probably not.

Molly was curious by nature, and he may have accidentally-on-purpose listened in on Caleb and Fjord’s conversation just enough to know what was going on without prying too deeply. Most of what he caught was meaningless to him, filtered out of his memory almost as quickly as he heard it, but the soft “we’ll make it work,” and sweet smile he saw peaked his interest. He may have only been himself for a short two years but Molly certainly wasn’t _that_ naive. So the next time they stopped at a little inn and he shared a room with Fjord, he waited until Fjord was just about to get into bed before bringing it up.

“So…”

Fjord turned slowly from where he was about to lie down in his bed, narrowing his eyes at Molly’s grin. “So?”

“You and Caleb, huh?” Molly sat on his own bed, elbows on his knees, cradling his chin in his hands.

“Uh. What about me and Caleb?” Fjord asked, sitting down slowly.

“Oh you know… the ‘we’ll make it work,’ the smiles… he may not get what you’re doing but _I_ sure do.”

Fjord paused and said nothing for a long moment, instead lying down on top of his sheets. “Molly… were you eavesdropping?”

Molly’s grin stretched wider, even as he went to lie down too. “Maybe. Maybe not. My point still stands and the fact that you’re not answering… _Very_ interesting indeed.”

“Maybe you should mind your own damn business then.” There was no malice in his voice, even as Fjord rolled over onto his side, facing away from Molly

“You know what I think?” A soft grunt in response game from the other side of the room. “I think you’re sweet on him.” Nothing but silence. “It’s okay, I completely understand. He has that effect on people. There’s just something about that scruffy wizard charm.”

There was another long silence, and Molly would have thought Fjord had fallen asleep already if he didn’t know any better. “So that uh… ‘social’ wall pin from back in Zadash. ‘S that your attempt at flirtin’ with him?”

Molly snickered lightly. “Sort of. It was a bit of this, a bit of that. Bit of flirting, bit of discomfort, bit of testing boundaries. Not my finest moment, and _certainly_ not my finest moment with our favourite wizard.”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Molly could practically hear Fjord rolling his eyes. “So what’s this then?”

“I dunno… little bit of friendly competition I suppose?”

At this, Molly both heard and watched Fjord roll over in the dark to face him. “Why Mr. Mollymauk,” his deep drawl more pronounced in the moment, making Molly giggle. “What makes you think you’d win this game? Haven’t you heard? I am,” Fjord clears his throat for a moment, before doing an immaculate impression of Jester, “ _very handsome.”_

Molly had to stifle his laugh in his covers at the impression, but continued anyway. “You may be handsome, but you’re too subtle, and Caleb… well. He doesn’t respond too well to subtleties. And I, my good sir, am _extremely_ obvious at all times.”

“Well then, I suppose the race is on, _sir.”_

Molly grinned to himself. “I suppose so.”

* * *

Friendly competition or not, Fjord had no intention of rushing things with Caleb, and Molly seemed content to wait on him to make the first official move, so to speak anyway. Fjord was a gentleman, and he needed things to progress naturally.

With maybe a little added haste.

The party had just ambushed a thieves hideout on the way out of Hupperdook, and Nott and Jester had immediately ran to look for any stolen treasures they could steal for themselves. Fjord didn’t see anything that particularly caught his eye among the small pile of treasure they had amassed, but he did see an opportunity of sorts.

“Hey uh… Caleb.” Fjord called out, walking towards the wizard sitting in front of the pile.

“Oh! Uh. Ja, Fjord? What can I do for you.” Caleb looked up at him briefly, making eye contact for a moment before looking away quickly, at the wall next to Fjord’s head, to the pile in front of him, then to the ground in front of Fjord.

“Well I was just wonderin’, if it wouldn’t uh… _impede_ you in anyway, would you mind if I joined in on your identifyin’ ritual? Or at the very least sat by and pretended I was takin’ part.”

“Oh if you would like to, sure, ja, I would not mind. Here.” Caleb looked at him once again, patting the stone next to him.

“A mighty big thanks, Caleb. I figure, I’m still tryin’ to understand my magic… may as well take the opportunity to learn what I can while I can, you know.”

Caleb gave him a small smile, nodding his head. “Ja, of course, I understand. Although your magic is already quite impressive.. I am not so sure there is anything that I could teach you specifically.”

“Caleb are you kiddin’ me?” Fjord laughed. “You’re magic is all sorts of awe inspiring, and I have so much more to learn… I figure I should learn from the best y’know?”

Caleb blinked at him slowly. “I uh, I don’t know if you could call me the best, or even the best _here_ but…”

“I certainly would, darlin’.”

Caleb cleared his throat and looked away, back to the pile of treasures to identify. “Well uh. Ja, okay. Here, you can help me with this.”

Fjord listened intently, and stared at the wizard a little more than he needed to, and out of the corner of his eye saw Molly watching the pair with a smirk.

_The race is on indeed._

Ten minutes pass, and Caleb explains everything he’s learned about the trinket in front of him, and Fjord mentally chastises himself for not paying as much attention to the words he’s saying as he is to how Caleb’s face lights up when he talks about his magic. “Thank you for assisting me, Fjord. I know I am not the uh… best teacher but I hope it was not a total bore for you.”

“Nah nah, thank you so much Caleb.” Fjord gives him a small but genuine smile. “I really, truly appreciate you lettin’ me in on this. Means a lot, you know.”

Caleb squints at him momentarily. “I do not understand.” Fjord opens his mouth ask for clarification but Caleb holds up a hand and shakes his head. “Not your words… your _face._ I do not understand.”

At this, Fjord can’t help but chuckle. “It’s just a smile, Caleb. All it means is I’m happy, ‘n’ I appreciate you.”

Caleb squints at him for a beat longer, before he gets flustered. “Well. You are very welcome. I- I would not mind if you joined me again. I will be seeing you!”

Fjord chuckles to himself as Caleb scampers off— he’s more than perceptive enough to notice the blush on Caleb’s cheeks as he makes his get away.

* * *

As far as Molly was concerned, there was no harm in a little friendly competition, especially when he was so confident he could win. He wasn’t confident for any particular reason, maybe because his methods of seduction were much more likely to be noticed, or maybe just because he was feeling confident.

Obvious he may be, but Molly was still more than patient enough to wait for the opportunity to arise for him to fluster his favourite wizard. The best moments were when Caleb came to him; he was less likely to scare him off if he was actively searching out Molly’s company.

The party was spread throughout the tavern; Beau was doing an awful job at flirting with Yasha by the bar, Jester was attempting to braid Nott’s hair, and Fjord taken an early night— something to do with his weird sword. Molly had been carefully shuffling his tarot cards, keeping the position of each card in mind, looking to see if he could find some poor sod off his luck that he could make a quick gold off of when Caleb came to sit with him, bringing two ales with him.

“Aw for me? You shouldn’t have.” Molly grinned wide, fluttering his eyelashes at the other man who just scoffed and smiled into his drink.

“You looked lonely over here, and Nott does not need my supervision with Jester.”

Molly shrugged, taking a swig of the offered ale. “That’s fair, I suppose. Anything on your mind? Anything I can do to help get your mind off it?” Caleb shook his head softly, eyes glued to the cards filtering through Molly’s hands. “Care for a reading?”

“Those are not magic cards.”

Molly raised an eyebrow, trying to suppress his smile. “Oh? You don’t believe in magic, Caleb? That’s very ironic coming from you.”

Caleb shook his head again, glancing up at Molly’s face for the first time that evening. “Of course I believe in magic, I just know that those are not magical, and that your readings do not use any magic.”

Molly hummed softly, letting his mind wander to Caleb as he properly shuffled the cards for the first time that night. “Is that so? Well I suppose it’s no arcane magic of any sort… not any kind of detectable magic, no. But it _is_ magical… you don’t believe in fate, Caleb?”

At this, the other man looked away scowling slightly. “I try not to.”

“Well! Let’s see what fate has in store for you first before you decide not to believe in her, eh?” Molly watched Caleb’s eyebrow rise skeptically as he stared into nothing, taking a long pull from his drink. Molly cut the deck once, twice, three times before he finally pulled a card. “Is this your card, Mr. Caleb?”

“I suppose it has to be, ja?” Caleb seemed to almost steal himself before looking at the card. “That is the moon. What does that mean for me?”

Molly flipped the card over to stare at the moon. “Hmm. Now _this_ is an interesting card… very you indeed. The moon is associated with fear, anxiety, intuition… our sense of belonging. You fear you don’t belong to anyone, to anywhere… maybe not even to yourself. It is also a warning that things may not always be as they seem, that your intuition, your feelings, your reasonings… they may be wrong and that you should reevaluate them. Right now, you may feel confused and unsure, but the moon urges you to unearth and face your fears, no matter how hard that may seem.” Molly watches Caleb’s face throughout his spiel, but nothing changes, his expression carefully neutral. His voice softens slightly, “Does that sound right to you, love?”

Caleb is silent for a long time, slowly nursing his drink as Molly goes back through his cards to sort them again. Tonight is not the night for a phony reading after all, but it’s good habit to keep them in order for next time. The two men sit in a comfortable silence for a long while before Caleb’s soft voice is heard over the din of the bar, “Thank you, Mollymauk. You have given me much to think about.” He looks up to meet Molly’s eyes again, and Molly’s heart breaks at the turmoil he sees behind them, but he keeps his face neutral as he nods. “I-I think I will be retiring for the evening. Gute nacht, Mollymauk Tealeaf.”

“Goodnight, Caleb Widogast.” Molly smiles up at him as Caleb stands and starts to make his way over to Nott and Jester, presumably to tell his little friend that he is off to bed. “Oh, and Caleb!” Molly calls over the din, waiting for Caleb to turn back to face him before continuing with a sly grin, “You look good all cleaned up and shaven.”

Caleb doesn’t say anything, but Molly swears he sees a little bit of red touch his ears.

-X-

Sometimes, after fights where Caleb kills someone, he gets quiet. Every time he does, it’s with a fire spell and every time it happens Fjord gives him space and doesn’t question it. Everyone’s got their own bagage— it’s up to them to tell it to anyone else. Besides, Fjord’s pretty sure at least Nott knows, and Beau knowing would make sense with how she draws him away from everyone else sometimes when he gets like this. And Fjord doesn’t want to crowd him, doesn’t want to demand answers he doesn’t deserve, but seeing Caleb go quiet and empty makes Fjord feel so damn _useless._ Every time.

That’s why he finds himself walking through the city with Jester and Kiri in tow, looking for the bookstore he swears he saw when they arrived.

“Why did I have to come along again?” Jester asked for the third time since they left the tavern. She didn’t seem to actually mind being out, looking through the town with him, but Fjord guessed she’d rather be gossiping with the Traveler right now.

“ _Because_ you know how to detect magic, and I don’t. Why did _Kiri_ have to come along again?” Fjord asked, mostly jokingly. He didn’t mind her, but he still wasn’t sure he completely trusted her.

At that, however, Jester gasped and clutched Kiri’s wing. “Fjord! How could you! I could not have left little Kiri alone at the tavern she would have gotten so bored! Right, Kiri?”

Kiri cocked her head to the side slightly, clicking and chirping a little before, “Right, Kiri?” came out in Jester’s voice.

“See! Don’t be _rude_ Fjord.” Jester replied haughtily.

“Sorry for uh… offending you, Kiri.” Only some clicks and chirps in response. “Right well, I think I see the shop up ahead anyway, come on.”

Fjord led them up towards a small store named _The Babbling Book_ that had books presented in its small windows, and stacks upon stacks of them lining the interior walls. Once inside, a young Dwarven woman with long red braids and an angular face greeted the trio, “Aye! Welcome to th’ Babbling Book! Do ya’ need any assistance? Lookin’ fer anythin’ in particular?”

Fjord smiled at the lady, “No thank you, we’re just here to browse.”

“Here to browse!” Echoed, in his own voice, as Jester led Kiri deeper into the store. Fjord smiled apologetically at the shopkeep, who was already back into the book she had put down, before following them off.

“Okay!” Jester started in a stage whisper once they were all out of site of the shopkeep. “I will cast detect magic now… Oooooooh!”

Fjord snorted as Jester wiggled her fingers a little, and light, pink divine energy seemed to flow from her fingertips for a moment before it stopped. She beamed up at Fjord before humming and skipping along through the store with Kiri in tow, as Fjord looked around.

“Do you think they have any good smut in here, Fjord?” Jester asked as she wandered through the stacks.

“Maybe. You could always ask, I suppose.”

Jester hummed absentmindedly as she reached a bookcase and hopped a bit, extending her arm to reach for a book. “I could but I am not really all that interested you know. I suppose I could just reread _Tusk Love_ again.”

“Tusk Love again!” Kiri chirped excitedly.

“No, no, Kiri, you are too young to read that.” Jester told her, before glancing at Fjord and stage whispering, “ask me again later.” Kiri nodded her head and Jester giggled. “Fjord! You see that black and gold book up there on the top shelf? That is the _only_ magic in this _whole_ store if you can reach it.”

Fjord saw the book easily— the fine gold trim stood out next to the leatherbound books surrounding it. “Sure thing, thank you kindly.”

He reached up and plucked the book from the shelf as as Jester sighed dreamily next to him. “Oh, _Oskaar_ …” Fjord raised an eyebrow at her and she grinned back. “Now, you go buy that book and take Kiri with you, and _make sure_ that the shopkeep is distracted! Go!”

Fjord raised his hands up in surrender, “Okay! Okay! Come along Kiri.”

As they approached the front desk again, Fjord could already hear the shuffling of books from back where they had left Jester. The Dwarven woman noticed their approach and set her book down, smiling broadly at the pair as they walked up to the counter. “Did ya find everythin’ alright today?”

“Yes, and I was hoping to purchase this book.” Fjord gave her his best winning smile as he shifted to hopefully block her view of anything Jester might be doing back there.

“Of course! That’ll run ya 5 gold pieces please.”

Fjord dutifully handed over the gold, and as he slid it over, he heard a soft _thump_. The woman looked up from putting away the money just as Fjord coughed loudly. “I was actually wonderin’ about the name of your lovely establishment if ya wouldn’t mind me askin’” He let his smile grow in hopes of keeping her more interested in him than the books falling in the back.

“Oh well, this store was built by my grand-pappy ages an’ ages ago, and there’s this li’l brook just out back from here. ‘N’ now grand-pappy thought it would be cute to name this store after that li’l babblin’ brook, an’ so now we have the babblin’ book!”

“Oh that is a _very_ fascinating story, thank you so much for telling it to us!” Jester said popping out from behind Fjord. “We really must be going now but thank you!” Fjord took his book and nodded his thanks as he and Kiri followed Jester out and back onto the streets. “You know, Fjord, I made a _real_ mess in there… I bet the Traveler will be _very_ happy with me!”

Fjord shook his head, chuckling endearingly at his friend who skipped on ahead of him. “I’m sure he will be Jester. Mighty happy with you.”

“Oh and Fjord! You know who will be _very_ happy with _you_ ?” At Fjord’s raised eyebrow, Jester giggled. “Caleb of course! That’s who this book is for right? He will be _very_ happy with you because it has lots of magic in it, I promise!”

“I. Uh. Well _yes_ it’s for Caleb, Jester but it’s no big deal.” Fjord said rubbing the back of his neck— he could feel the telltale heat in his face of a slight blush as he cleared his throat.”

“No big deal… But that doesn’t make sense since you have a big, big crush on Caleb, Fjord.” Jester said grinning.

“I _do not_ have a big crush on Caleb.” Fjord said, trying to give Jester the sternest look he could. By her giggle he was sure his blushing was ruining it.

“I didn’t say that! I said you have a big, _big_ crush on him.”

“Big, big crush!” Kiri added, making Jester laugh.

“See! Even little Kiri knows. Oh I know, you should write him a little note in the book!” Jester said excitedly, beaming up at Fjord.

Fjord sighed, rubbing the back of his neck some more. “What _exactly_ would I say? ‘You went kind of catatonic yesterday and I felt bad so I got you this book, hope you feel better xoxo?””

“Mmm… well no… maybe something like…” Jester’s face closes off for a moment as she thinks for a moment before her eyes go wide and her smile returns. “How about, ‘Dear Mr. Caleb. I felt bad you felt bad the other day because I have a big huge crush on you and I want to have a million of your babies please feel better soon! Loooooooove Fjord.’ That sounds _much_ better I think.”

Fjord laughed. “Don’t you think that’s a little uh… on the nose? And a lie, by the way; I don’t want to ‘have a million of his babies.’”

“Uhuh! I’m _sure_ you don’t,” Jester gave him a big, over exaggerated wink before giggling again. “But you _do_ have a crush on him! And no, frankly, I don’t think Caleb would take it that way, he’d probably be like ‘Oh Fjord,’” Fjord snorted at her awful attempt at mimicking Caleb’s accent, “‘that is a very nice thing that you said about me, I am glad we are such good friends also.’ The end!”

Fjord rolled his eyes. “With my luck? Most likely.”

“You should be more like Molly, Fjord. He is much more obvious about liking Caleb. Although so are you since I figured it out, but I am _very_ perceptive.” Jester nodded sagely up at him as she linked her arm with his, continuing to pull him in the direction of the inn the party was staying at.

“You most certainly are, Jester. You most certainly are.”

By the time they reached the inn, it’s reaching midday and the rest of the party had already met up and taken over two tables to eat their breakfast. They exchanged their greetings, Beau wiggling her eyebrows at Jester as she stuffed bacon in her pocket, while Jester just shook her head and smiled, sitting down with Kiri. The party was loud enough and the tavern empty enough that no one had wanted to sit near them, so there were a few empty tables surrounding the party.

Fjord greets everyone but makes his way over to Caleb instead of sitting down. “Hey, Caleb. Can I perchance borrow a moment of your time?” He asks, gesturing towards one of the vacant tables next to the group.

The first thing Fjord thinks when Caleb looks up at him is that he looks haggard. He definitely didn’t sleep well last night, and Fjord can tell that whatever played in his mind while he was out of it yesterday is still haunting him now. “Oh, sure Fjord, as you wish.” He gets up slowly, muffling a yawn in his arm. Fjord watches Nott sneak some more bacon onto his plate when he’s not looking, and he watches Molly track the pair’s movement to the next table— most likely out of both curiosity and concern. “What is going on, Fjord?”

“Well first I just wanted ask, are you ok? You don’t look too good this morning.”

Caleb lets out a sigh. “Yes, I am alright. I just did not sleep much last night I was… reading.”

It’s a flimsy and obvious lie and they both know it, but Fjord chooses not to say anything about it. “Well, yesterday was a uh… _real_ bad day, for all of us right. And me an’ Jester had to go pick up some things this morning and we saw this shop and I went in and picked this up for you,” As he speaks, Fjord pulls the book out of his bag and pushes it gently over to Caleb. He watches Caleb tentatively pull it closer to take a look at it. “Jester promises it is very magical so… hopefully it’s useful to you. I forgot to ask if they had any historical smut for sale.”

This gets a chuckle from Caleb, and a small smile. “Thank you, Fjord,” he says softly. A few moments later, there’s a spark of blue light in Caleb’s eye as he starts muttering a few incantations. His breath catches in his throat, and his head jolts up, eyes wide and mouth agape. “Fjord this is. Definitely very magical I…” He trails off as he frantically starts flipping through the pages. Fjord glanced over at the others, most of them noticing Caleb’s sudden excitement but going back to their conversations quickly enough. Jester gave him a knowing smile, and Molly gave him a small thumbs up. “Fjord this is… incredible,” Caleb sounded almost breathless in his awe. “These spells will… well I’ll need to get the components but these spells will be so helpful I will be able to help the group so much I...Fjord I could _kiss_ you right now!”

Fjord gave a soft chuckle and before he could consider his options replied with, “I wouldn’t be opposed.” The effect is immediate, but not in the was Fjord would hope. He hears Molly do a spit take, Jester gasp and start cackling, Beau asking what was so funny, and when he glances over he sees Nott eyeing him suspiciously.

Caleb, however, is so engrossed with the spell book that he doesn’t even look up until a few moments later. “Oh, sorry Fjord… I got distracted did you say something?” Caleb’s blushing again, but he’s smiling so genuinely it melts Fjord’s heart.

He glances quickly at Molly before smiling and shaking his head. “Nothing important, just I’m glad you like it.”

“Oh, ja ja I like it very much. Truly, thank you Fjord.” Caleb’s body jolts forward a few millimeters and then stops for a moment, before continuing and grasping Fjord in a slightly awkward embrace. Fjord winks at Molly over the table, who claps silently looking impressed as Fjord gently hugs the wizard back.

“It’s really no problem Caleb, I-”

The tender moment is broken by Kiri, in Jester’s voice, saying loudly, “Mr. Caleb! I want to have a million of your babies!”

Caleb pulls away suddenly looking perplexed, Molly does his second spittake of the night, and Fjord feels his face turning a darker shade of green as he resists the urge to facepalm.

* * *

Travelling through small villages is always hit or miss, especially when it comes to accomodations. The entirety of the party can agree that having a wooden roof of their heads was leagues better than camping out in tents on the side of the road, but the only inn of the town was the small second story to the town’s only bar, and only had two available rooms for the eight of them. They had agreed to split it so that the guys would share and the girls would share— mostly. No matter that Nott was becoming more and more trusting of the group and more willing to spend the time away from Caleb, she’d been eyeing both Molly and Fjord recently and had offered to stay with the three of them since the girls room would be pretty crowded anyway. Yasha had been the one who convinced her to stay with the girls in the end.

“If you do not stay with us, who will be there to shoot the intruders?” It was a flimsy reason, but Yasha said it with a hestitating smile and it prompted Jester and Beau to jump in with everything they could do that evening from pillow fights to hair braiding.

After the party had settled down and gone to do their separate businesses, Molly went down to get a drink at the bar.

“If you would like, I could try to remove Fjord from your room for the night also.”

Molly nearly startled, but after so many months he was used to Yasha’s uncanny ability to move so silently. “That really isn’t necessary.”

Yasha walked up and sat next to him at the bar, a small grin tugging at her lips. “Are you certain? It seems you may need all the help you can get.”

“Oho! Now _you’re_ going to give _me_ tips on flirting? This is truly incredible.” Molly laughed, and he saw Yasha duck her head slightly next to him. “If anything I should be the one offering _you_ assistance; you and Beauregard keep beating around the bush when you’re so _obviously_ both into each other.”

Molly watched her blush slightly and clear her throat from the corner of his eye. “You are sweet on him.”

Molly sighed and took a swig from his drink. “I suppose I am.”

Yasha nodded sagely. “Well. I know that he is still upstairs in your room and that Fjord went to try to resupply on health potions.”

“Oh?” At this Molly downed the rest of his glass and stood up. “Well, I can’t leave the poor man alone up there then.”

Yasha gave him a small smile and matching shove towards the stairs. “No, no you cannot.”

Molly made his way upstairs, knocking lightly on the door once he arrived. He waited a moment before opening the door to see Caleb— blessedly alone— sitting on the bed, reading. His coat was folded neatly next to him with his book holsters on top, and his shoes were by the door. He didn’t look up as Molly entered and closed the door behind him, or even when Molly sat on the other side of the bed from him.

“Whatcha readin’?” Molly tried to crane his head to see the title of the book in Caleb’s hands, but the leather was old and weathered so he couldn’t make it out anyway.

“It is a work of fiction.” Caleb said, flipping the page and still not looking up at Molly.

Molly hummed thoughtfully. “You should read to me.”

Caleb jolted, slightly, looking up from his book to Molly for the first time this evening. “You do not even know what it is.”

“Is it more smut?” Molly grins at him deviously.

Caleb rolls his eyes. “I do not understand your and everyone else’s fascination with that; it was a cover. That is all. I do not have some sort of… of smut obsession.”

“And what a shame that is.” Molly sighed forlorn, as he flopped onto his back on the be. “You didn’t answer me though.”

“ _No_ , it is not smut. If it were I would definitely not read it to you.”

“If it were that would mean you should _definitely_ read it to me.” Molly winks at Caleb, watching his face flush slightly but he holds eye contact for once.

“It is not in Common, you would not understand it.”

“Oh then that’s even better! Marvelous, really! Will you read it for me pretty please?” Molly sits up slightly and flutters his eyelashes at Caleb, smiling up at him.

Caleb sighs and nods his head and that’s all it take before Molly flops down and worms his way over so that his head is on Caleb’s lap. His eyes are closed, but he feels Caleb tense underneath him and quietly offers, “I am more than willing to move if you would like, Caleb.”

Caleb is silent for a moment, and he doesn’t quite relax underneath Molly, but he lets out a small shaky breath. “No, no this is… this is fine. This is good.”

Molly pops one eye open to stare at the face above him. The angle is awkward, especially considering that Caleb is staunchly not looking at him, but his face is definitely beat red now. “You sure, love? Comfortable as this is I could find another position.”

“No, no I... “ Caleb clears his throat and glances at Molly, and then away, and then back to Molly, and then to a place just past his head. “I am… happy. With this arrangement Mollymauk, I promise.”

Molly smiles up at Caleb, closing his eye again and lying as still as possible. After a moment, he feels Caleb shift and pick up his book again, this time reading aloud. The only Zemnian Molly knows is how to say no, but he can admit that it’s a pretty language to listen to, especially when it’s coming from Caleb. His voice is soft as he reads, and Molly finds that after sometime Caleb relaxes again, and so does Molly. He doesn’t know how long they stay like this— Caleb reading softly to him, and Molly drifting peacefully in his lap— before Molly falls asleep completely.

When he wakes up it’s to soft Zemnian muttering, and a strange piercing in his chest— it doesn’t hurt and it’s very light, but it feels strange. He lifts his head slightly off of Caleb’s lap to see Frumpkin sitting squarely on his chest, blinking at him, and kneading at his chest with his claws. “It means he likes you.” Caleb says quietly, still staring at the book in front of him.

“Frumpkin, or you? You tell him what to do right?” Molly asks, stifling a yawn. Caleb says nothing, but there’s a light blush starting on his cheeks, so Molly takes it to mean he’s at least partially right. “How long was I asleep, anyway?”

“87 minutes.” Caleb responds immediately.

Molly blinks at the man in front of him. “You let me sleep in your lap for almost an hour and a half?”

“Well. We have not had a lot of down time recently and you seemed very peaceful. And besides, both Frumpkin and I like you.” At that last part, Caleb looks down at him with a smile that is unsure but meant to be teasing. It’s incredibly endearing and Molly chuckles.

“I suppose that’s fair. How far into your book are you?” Molly let his head fall back onto Caleb while he started petting the weird-fake-real-cat on his chest. He’d never gotten to be the one petting Frumpkin, or any cats at all in his memory so this was a novelty.

“I finished it while you were sleeping, actually.” Molly began to protest, but Caleb shook his head and continued. “I was just… thinking, anyway.”

“What about?” Caleb opened his mouth as if to say something but closed it again as he got a distant look in his eye. “If it’s not my business you don’t have to tell me, dear. I’ve already occupied enough of your time and personal space.”

Caleb sighed. “It was not as bad as all that Mollymauk just-”

At that the door to the room slammed open, and both Caleb and Frumpkin jumped at the sound. “Holy _fuck_ guys!” Beau yelled from the doorway.

Molly sighed dramatically, rolling off of Caleb and the bed and standing up. “What could you _possibly_ want that’s so important?”

Beau had stopped in the doorway, and was now squinting suspiciously at Molly, and then to Caleb, and then back to Molly. “What uh… what’re you guys doin’ in here?”

“Well I was napping, and Caleb was reading before you so _rudely_ interrupted.” Molly said indignantly, planting his hands on his hips.

“What is going on, Beauregard. Is everything alright?” Caleb asked, standing up too. Out of the corner of his eye, Molly could see how flustered he looked, clutching his book to his chest as if he were indecent.

Beau was silent for a moment longer as she just stared between the two of them. “Yeah. Yeah everything’s fine. We just met a really cool guy downstairs… I figured you guys would wanna meet him too. Unless of course you’re uh… busy _napping_.” The airquotes weren’t physical, but Molly could hear the suspicion and sarcasm dripping unsubtly from her words.

“Well I _was_ but now I’m thoroughly intrigued. This man better be very interesting or I’m going to be very upset.” Molly brushed past Beau, pouting as he headed downstairs to meet with the rest of the party. As he walked away, he could he hear Beau’s idea of what a whisper was as she interrogated Caleb.

* * *

“I do not understand what is going on with those two.” Caleb sighed, rubbing his eyes. It was late, late evening, and the rest of his companions save for Nott were sleeping soundly around them as they took watch. They were on their way to Shady Creek, and they had decided to stop to camp for the evening.

“Who? What two?” Nott asked, whipping her head back and forth to scout their surroundings.

“Keep your voice down.” He whispered back, waiting for her to settle down again before he continued. “Fjord and Molly.”

“Oh.” Nott paused, lowering her crossbow and glancing at the tent she knew they were sleeping in. “Are they being bad? Are they grumpy? If they’re grumpy I can steal from them right?”

Caleb smiled at his little friends excitement. “No. No they have been the opposite they have been… quite nice recently. I’m not sure I quite understand.”

“How so?”

“I… do not know how to explain.” Caleb said honestly, rubbing the back of his neck. “They have… taken an interest in me I suppose? In that they actively seek me out to talk. I suppose it… it could be that they are trying to show that they trust me more now? Fjord found me a spellbook the other day, the one I showed you. And Molly asked me to read to him and he fell asleep during it.”

Nott seemed to be deep in thought as she considered what she had just been told. She stood up and started as if she were going to go over to their tent before sitting down again. “You might be right… or _maybe_ they’re trying to trick you. _Maybe_ they have some nefarious plot going!”

“I do not get that feeling from them…” Caleb trailed off, looking towards the tent himself.

“Well. I can tell them to stop. I’ll tell them if they don’t leave you alone I’ll shoot them!” Caleb snickered at how surely an sincerely she said it and she looked over at him. “I will, if it came down to it I would protect you first.”

“I know, I know. It is appreciated, my friend, but I do not think it is necessary.” He assured her. “It is… nice. I enjoy spending time with the both of them I am just… unsure of their motivations.”

“Oh. Well… if they’re being nice and you’re happy… then I’m happy.” Nott nodded once, to herself, before smiling over at Caleb. “Maybe Jester knows… I’ll ask her in the morning. Me and her are very good at solving mysteries!”

“No… no I do not want Jester knowing. She will blab about it and then maybe they will stop.” Caleb said, feeling his heart clench at the idea.

“Caleb…” Nott’s voice was soft and careful, as if she were speaking to an erratic animal. “Do you… _like_ like them?”

Caleb felt his face heat up, and prayed to whichever god would listen that his friend’s darkvision wouldn’t be able to pick up on it. “No, no, it’s not that it’s just… it’s just that… it is nice to have friends. That is all.”

“Oh.” Nott didn’t say anything else, but she stared thoughtfully at the tent for a long while after that. “Well, in that case, I’ll tell them that if they stop spending time with you I’ll shoot them.”

Caleb felt a burst of air leave his lungs in something that wasn’t quite a laugh. “ _Nott!”_


End file.
